Learn about front-line clinical informatics, clinical workflow design, and EMR implementation with an experienced CMIO. Open discussion is encouraged, education is a priority. All opinions are strictly my own.

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Modern healthcare needs people to work on it. Like a garden, it needs pruning, trimming, weeding, planting, and a lot of care to keep it alive and vibrant. You will probably need committees to help you do this.

Committees are the workhorses of an organization - They help you get things done, hopefully, by coordinating the actions of different parts of your organization, and so they are useful in coordinated change management. From Google :
According to Wikipedia, committees are :

"a necessary aspect of organizations of any significant size" and are

"a way to formally draw together people of relevant expertise from different parts of an organization who otherwise would not have a good way to share information and coordinate actions" and

"can also be empaneled with experts".

The exact parliamentary practices here seems to vary broadly, from Robert's Rules of Order to other blogs and books on parliament, but committees typically come in one of three flavors :

Executive Committee - A committee with well-defined executive powers usually spelled out in a charter or organizational by-laws

Standing/Permanent Committee - A subunit of a political or deliberative body established in a permanent fashion to aid the parent assembly in accomplishing its duties.

Working/Ad Hoc Committee - A group established to accomplish a particular task or to oversee an ongoing area

Quorum (What's the minimum number of people that need to be in a room for an official meet?)

Charter Review (How often will this charter be re-examined? When will it be reapproved?)

Measures of success (How will we know if the committee is effective?)

Oversight body (Who will this committee report to?)

It's pretty short-and-sweet, but in one page I think it gets the job done quite well. As always, if my writing inspires you, remember to tailor it to your needs. Let me know if you have any other charter templates you like, and why you use them!

Remember, this is all just academic discussion, and your mileage may vary! Check with your local regulatory bodies before developing governance tools in your area. Feel free to send thoughts, comments, or questions - I always enjoy getting feedback from other people looking to improve healthcare!